The Future of Redevelopment in NJ's Urban Areas

Steve Adubato talks with Leslie Anderson, President & CEO, NJ Redevelopment Authority, about her goals for the future of redevelopment, specifically in urban areas, and how the Murphy administration will impact these efforts.

8/4/18 #218

Excerpt:

"We're pleased to welcome back, by popular demand, Leslie Anderson, President and Chief Executive Officer of an organization called New Jersey Redevelopment Authority, which does? We are a state financing authority. We provide financial and technical assistance to New Jersey's most distressed communities - most urbanized communities. Let's break this down. There's was something we were talking with United States Senator Cory Booker about literally in the NJTV Studio yesterday. He was talking about... Jacqui, what are they called? Opportunity Zones? Yes sir. Leslie Anderson, talk to us about Opportunity Zones. What... who... where are these zones? And what do they mean? We have looked at... there are 100... I believe 135 zones designated by census tracts in the state of New Jersey. What the Opportunity Zones have the potential to do is tremendous. What it's going to allow is institutions that have high capital gains tax liability. Hmm. We'll be able to see a break in that tax liability when they make investments in projects in these designated areas. Translation. Are we lowering tax rates in these communities? We will, potentially through the projects that get financed, look to lower the tax rates in those communities. So you're gonna see distressed properties come back online so that these municipalities can begin to collect taxes on those properties... Like right now, you're not bringing... getting new property taxes, because nobody's in them? Exactly. But we're seeing an opportunity to put resources in as equity, we've never seen this before. Hmm. So it's gonna go in as equity. It can stay seven to ten years. And in that time frame, it gives the opportunity for the project to grow, to create jobs, to create homes, to just better the quality of life in communities in New Jersey that truly need it. By the way, Steve Adubato here. This is State of Affairs. We're at the NJTV Studio in Newark. If you're listening to us on a lot of different platforms right now, this is Leslie Anderson, President and CEO of an organization called New Jersey Redevelopment Authority. Is it a government entity? Or is it outside the government - your organization? What we're outside of is the budget. So we received an appropriation. We received our first appropriation in 1996. From the state? From the state. It was $9,000,000. We received a second appropriation of $25,000,000 for the New Jersey Urban Site Acquisition Program in 2002. That means you acquire property in urban areas? We help municipalities and developers acquire property. We don't do it directly. We're a lender. So look at us like a bank in the state of New Jersey. Hmm. What we do that's different from a bank is we take on that higher risk. We're there first. So we..."